Album:
Bird Streets

Artist: Bird Streets

Label: Omnivore

It should come as no surprise that singer John Brodeur and Jason Falkner – power pop hero from Jellyfish, The Three O’clock and a slew of stellar solo albums – would make solid music together. What is surprising is just how good they are combining talents. Bird Streets, their eponymous debut, is a fantastic blend of power pop and indie rock that manages to sound like one of the best ‘90s album that didn’t come out until now (for the record, this one was recorded between 2014 and 2016).

All of the songs here were written by Brodeur and both he and Falkner share vocals duties. Brodeur’s voice is simply sublime here, sounding a bit like Dan Wilson (one of the most underrated singers from the 1990s), and lyrically he is at the top of his game. Subtly brilliant lines like “I remember when we were tighter than Steely Dan” (“Betting on the Sun”), remind you just how much we’ve been taking him for granted over the past decade or so.

The dark “Pretty Bones” (and to a lesser extent “Bullets”) don’t really fit in with the other tracks, with the ominous strings and haunting lyrics bring down the vibe a bit, but there are plenty of astoundingly beautiful songs here to more than make up for it.

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